I’ve just seen the future of Australian comedy and it’s spelt MEL BUTTLE. Visitors to Australian Comedy Review are usually serious comedy fans so you’ll understand that feeling you get when you see a new comic and you know you’ve just witnessed something special; like seeing Judith Lucy at the Prince Pat back in the late 80’s. That feeling that drives you to contact all your comedy-loving friends straight after the gig and suggest they get on down to the Melbourne Town Hall and grab a ticket. Well, Melinda Buttle evoked that feeling with her debut comedy festival show Sista Got Flow.
Despite outing herself as a 28 year-old virgin there are no signs of first-time nerves in this hilarious hour of excellent stand-up. Buttle’s show includes excellent material about her Vietnam veteran father, her straight-edge mother, online dating and her experiences as a relief teacher in a struggle-town Brisbane High School. Her tale of rap battling one of her Samoan students made me wish we could drop Buttle into Summer Heights High to try her hand at disciplining Jonah Takalua. It’s hard to pick just one highlight as this show is totally lacking in flat spots.
This show is M-rated but Buttle gives the audience fair warning of the dropping levels on the comfort-meter. However, this is only one small segment and the rest of the show sits comfortably in the PG arena. My only criticism is that Buttle could smooth out her segues between vignettes; sometimes the story doesn’t feel quite finished before moving on and could do with either one final sharp punch to close it off or the story could be revisited and woven back in later.
We are so lucky in this country; our Australian comedians totally kick arse. We have such a wealth of talented local female comedians and some genuine comedy superstars in Denise Scott, Judith Lucy and Fiona O’Loughlin. It’s reassuring to know that we have such great young talent coming through to keep the scene alive.
Melinda Buttle has got that special something that makes a comic stand out; the rare ability to appeal to mainstream audiences and comedy junkies. She manages to be both biting yet warm. Buttle presents as a comedian who’s not pretending to be anyone else, she’s totally comfortable in her own skin; polished, smart and most of all very, very funny. Sista Got Flow is a Top Pick for this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
For show times and tickets visit the Melbourne Comedy Festival website